Binondo

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District of Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines

title: "Binondo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["binondo", "chinese-filipino-culture", "districts-of-manila", "chinatowns-in-asia", "central-business-districts-in-the-philippines"] description: "District of Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines" topic_path: "geography/china" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binondo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary District of Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
name
translit_lang1Other
translit_lang1_type2Chinese
translit_lang1_info2岷倫洛
translit_lang1_info3Bîn-lûn-lo̍h
nicknameChinatown
image_skylineBinondo, Manila San Nicolas Heritage Centre 47.jpg
image_captionBinondo Church
map_captionLocation within Manila
mapframeyes
mapframe-zoom14
mapframe-pointnone
pushpin_mapCity of Manila
pushpin_label_positionleft
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_namePhilippines
subdivision_type1Region
subdivision_name1National Capital Region
subdivision_type2City
subdivision_name2Manila
subdivision_type3Congressional District
subdivision_name3Part of 3rd District of Manila
subdivision_type4Barangays
subdivision_name410
area_total_km20.66
area_total_sq_mi0.26
population_as_of
population_total
population_footnotes
population_density_km2auto
established_titleFounded
established_date1594
founderLuis Pérez Dasmariñas
timezone1Philippine Standard Time
utc_offset1+08:00
postal_code_typeZip codes
postal_code1006
area_code_typeArea codes
area_code2
settlement_typeConstituent and Central Business District of Manila
blank1_name_sec1Languages
blank1_info_sec1Hokkien
Tagalog
Mandarin
::

| name = Binondo | translit_lang1 = Other | translit_lang1_type2 = Chinese | translit_lang1_info2 = 岷倫洛 | translit_lang1_info3 = Bîn-lûn-lo̍h | nickname = Chinatown | image_skyline = Binondo, Manila San Nicolas Heritage Centre 47.jpg | image_caption = Binondo Church | map_caption = Location within Manila | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 14 | mapframe-point = none | pushpin_map = City of Manila | pushpin_label_position = left | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Philippines | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = National Capital Region | subdivision_type2 = City | subdivision_name2 = Manila | subdivision_type3 = Congressional District | subdivision_name3 = Part of 3rd District of Manila | subdivision_type4 = Barangays | subdivision_name4 = 10 | area_total_km2 = 0.66 | area_total_sq_mi = 0.26 | population_as_of = | population_total = | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = auto | official_name = | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1594 | founder = Luis Pérez Dasmariñas | timezone1 = Philippine Standard Time | utc_offset1 = +08:00 | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = Zip codes | postal_code = 1006 | area_code_type = Area codes | area_code = 2 | settlement_type = Constituent and Central Business District of Manila | blank1_name_sec1 = Languages | blank1_info_sec1 = Hokkien Tagalog Mandarin | t = 岷 | s = 岷 | p = Mínlúnluò Qū | w = | mi = | bpmf = ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄌㄨㄣˊ ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄑㄩ | poj = Bîn-lûn-lo̍h-khu | j = Man4 leon4 lok3 keoi1 au1 | y = Màhn lèuhn lok kēui āu | ci = | altname = Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown.{{cite news |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/food/388446/binondo-new-discoveries-in-the-world-s-oldest-chinatown/story/ |title=New discoveries in the world's oldest Chinatown |first=STANLEY BALDWIN O. |last=SEE |work=GMA News Online |date=November 17, 2014 |access-date=March 21, 2025}} Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas and Tondo. It is the oldest Chinatown in the world, established in 1594 by the Spaniards as a settlement near Intramuros but across the Pasig River for Catholic Chinese; it was positioned so that the colonial administration could keep a close eye on their migrant subjects. It was already a hub of Chinese commerce even before the Spanish colonial period. Binondo is the center of commerce and trade of Manila, where all types of business run by Chinese Filipinos thrive.

Noted residents include Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, the Filipino protomartyr, and Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, founder of the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

Etymology

Numerous theories on the origin of the name "Binondo", and that of "Tondo", its neighboring district, have been put forward. Philippine National Artist Nick Joaquin suggested that the names might have been derived from the archaic spelling of the Tagalog term "binondoc" (modern orthography: binundók), or mountainous, referring to Binondo's originally hilly terrain. French linguist Jean-Paul Potet, however, has suggested that the river mangrove (Aegiceras corniculatum), which at the time was called "tundok" ("tinduk-tindukan" today), is the most likely origin of the term, with the 'Bi-" prefix in "Binondo" indicating Binondo's location relative to Tondo.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Bridge_of_Binondoc_in_Manila,_early_1800s.jpg" caption="convert]]ed to [[Catholicism]]. It was across the river from the walled city of [[Intramuros]], where the Spaniards resided."] ::

Originally it was intended to replace the Parian near Intramuros, where Sangley Chinese merchants and artisans were first confined. The Spanish gave a land grant for Binondo to a group of Chinese merchants and artisans in perpetuity, tax-free and with limited self-governing privileges. The area also served as a midpoint in between Parián (modern-day Arroceros Urban Forest Park) and San Nicolas, since way before the Spanish conquest of Manila in the Battle of Manila (1570), a Sangley Chinese community had already settled in Baybay (former name of San Nicolas, Manila) near Tondo on the north bank of the Pasig river directly on Binondo's west.

The Spanish Dominican fathers made Binondo their parish and succeeded in converting many of the residents to Catholicism. Binondo soon became the place where Chinese immigrants converted to Catholicism, intermarried with indigenous Filipino women and had children, who became the Chinese mestizo community. Over the years, the Chinese mestizo population of Binondo grew rapidly. This was caused mainly because the lack of Chinese immigrant females and the Spanish officials' policy of expelling Chinese immigrants who refused to convert and casualties during Chinese revolts against the Spanish.[[File:Binondo, Manila, Philippines 1890's-1900's.jpg|left|thumb|371x371px|[[Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz|Plaza Calderón de la Barca]] in Binondo with the view of [[Binondo Church]]]]In 1603, a Chinese revolt took place led by Juan Suntay, a wealthy Chinese Catholic. The Chinese were at first successful and slaughtered the Spanish governor general Luis Pérez Dasmariñas and his Spanish forces. The revolt took place right after a visit to Manila by three official Chinese representatives who disclosed they were searching for "a mountain of gold". This strange claim prompted the Spanish to conclude that there was an imminent invasion from China in the making and Luis tried attacking the Chinese first. At the time the local Chinese outnumbered the Spaniards by twenty to one, and Spanish authorities feared that they would join the invading forces. However, Filipinos loyal to the Spanish outnumbered the Chinese and the Filipinos saved the surviving Spanish and put down the revolt. In the aftermath most of the 20,000 Chinese that composed the colony were killed. In 1605, a Fukien official issued a letter claiming that the Chinese who had participated in the revolt were unworthy of China's protection, describing them as "deserters of the tombs of their ancestors". New Chinese migrants repopulated Binondo. [[File:Calle Rosario, Manila, Philippines, 1915.png|thumb|Calle Rosario (modern-day Quintin Paredes Street), 1915|178x178px]]During the brief British occupation of Manila, between 1762 and 1764, Binondo was damaged during the capture of the city. The new governor of Manila, Dawsonne Drake, formed a war council which he termed the "Chottry Court". Drake imprisoned several Manilans on charges known "only known to himself", according Captain Thomas Backhouse, who denounced Drake's court as a sham. Binondo became the main center for business and finance in Manila for the ethnic Chinese, Chinese mestizos and Spanish Filipinos. During the Spanish colonial period, many esteros (canals) were constructed in the Binondo area, from where they entered the Pasig River. Among the many who married at the historic Binondo Church was Andres Bonifacio in 1895, who became a hero of the Philippine Revolution.

Before World War II, Binondo was the center of a banking and financial community which included insurance companies, commercial banks and other financial institutions from Britain and the United States. These banks were located mostly along Escólta, which used to be called the "Wall Street of the Philippines".

After the war and new development, most businesses began to relocate to the newer Zobel de Ayala family-led area of Makati. During the financial crisis of the early 1980s under the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, it had the moniker "Binondo Central Bank", as the local Chinese businessmen engaged in massive black market trading of US dollars, which often determined the national peso-dollar exchange rate. Given its rich historical and financial significance, Binondo is said to have one of the highest land values nationwide.

The Binondo was plot setting for the episode "Mata" and "Mukha" of the 2010 horror film Cinco.

A geopolitical incident erupted within Binondo in August 2020, when Manila mayor Isko Moreno took an exception to an imported beauty product in which the product packaging labelled the importer's address as "707 Sto. Cristo St. San Nicolas, Manila Province, P.R. China". He said in anger that Binondo is "not and will never be a province of China", and ordered the city officials to close down all Chinatown area stores selling the product. PBA Partylist Representative Jericho Nograles suggested the blacklisting of both the Chinese manufacturer and the importer of the beauty product. Malacañang palace dismissed the incident as "nonsense" and claimed "no one believes we are a province of China"; political analyst Richard Heydarian opined this response as a proof of the Duterte administration's leaning towards China in the midst of both the territorial dispute with China and the survey results showing the desire of the majority of the Filipinos to hold China accountable for the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

File:View of Manila Philippines 1800's.jpg|View of Puente de España, the bridge that once connected Binondo from Ermita. (1800s) File:Pasig River Manila Philippines 1800's.jpg|View of the Binondo Side of Pasig River with its Bahay na bato structure's lined beside the river. circa 19th century File:La Escolta c. 1910.jpg|Escolta street (1910) File:La Insular Cigar Factory Manila.jpg|La Insular Cigar Factory File:El Hogar building Manila.jpg|El Hogar Filipino Building, built in 1914, example of Beaux-Arts style architecture File:Hotel de Oriente Binondo 1890.jpg|Hotel De Oriente File:Plaza Moraga Manila.jpg|Plaza Moraga in the 1930s.

Barangays

The most populated barangay in Binondo is Barangay 293.

Zone 27: 287, 288, 289, 290, 291

Zone 28: 292, 293, 294, 295, 296 ::data[format=table]

BarangayLand area (km2)Population (2024 census)Zone 27Zone 28
Barangay 2870.1277 km23,117
Barangay 2880.03718 km22,800
Barangay 2890.04449 km21,352
Barangay 2900.05753 km21,713
Barangay 2910.1064 km22,537
Barangay 2920.05359 km23,113
Barangay 2930.1273 km23,708
Barangay 2940.05067 km21,905
Barangay 2950.02587 km21,417
Barangay 2960.03502 km22,273
::

Places of interest and events

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Binondo_Chinese_New_Year_Ongpin_Street_2024-02-10.jpg" caption="Celebration of Chinese New Year in Binondo, Manila (2024)"] ::

In literature

Binondo was mentioned several times in the novels of Dr. José Rizal, for example, in Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

Gallery

File:Manila Philippines Shop-sign-in-Chinatown-01.jpg|alt=A red street sign that says "Q. PAREDES" The street sign is topped with a dragon.|A now redesigned street sign in Chinatown File:Taft Avenue - City Hall, UN with Binondo (aerial shot) (Ermita, Manila)(2018-02-20).jpg|Binondo, with the Manila City Hall and the United Nations station File:Manila downtown - Binondo, Quiapo, Quezon Bridge, Pasig River, Arroceros (close-up) (Manila)(2018-02-07).jpg|Binondo, with Quiapo, Santa Cruz, the Pasig River, and the Arroceros Forest Park File:Pasig River, Juan Luna Binondo (Manila; 01-01-2025).jpg|Buildings along the Pasig River in Escolta File:Chinese New Year in Binondo, Manila (2020).jpg|Manila Chinatown Welcome Arch during the Chinese New Year (2020) File:Binondo Church Interior, Manila, May 2025 (2).jpg|Interior of the Binondo Church File:Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch at Binondo.jpg|Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch

References

Sources

References

  1. Geni Raitisoja. (July 8, 2006). "Chinatown Manila: Oldest in the world".
  2. Wherry, Frederick F.. (2015-09-01). "The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society". SAGE Publications, Inc..
  3. Umali, Justin. (2019-02-04). "How Binondo Became the World's Oldest Chinatown". [[Summit Media]].
  4. (2013-03-21). "Chinatowns around the World: Gilded Ghetto, Ethnopolis, and Cultural Diaspora". [[Brill Publishers]].
  5. Simon Ostheimer. (September 12, 2012). "World's best Chinatowns".
  6. Joaqiun, Nick. (1990). "Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young". Anvil Publishing, Inc..
  7. (2012). "Looking Back: Volume 1". Anvil Publishing, Inc..
  8. Potet, Jean-Paul G.. (2013). "Arabic and Persian Loanwords in Tagalog". Lulu.com.
  9. {{harvp. Van der Loon. 1966
  10. Chi Tien, Liu. (1955). "Hua-ch'iao tui-yu Fei-lu-pin (The Overseas Chinese in the Philippines)".
  11. MacNair, H.F.. (1923). "The Relation of China to her Nationals Abroad".
  12. Backhouse, Thomas. (1765). "The Secretary at War to Mr. Secretary Conway". British Library.
  13. "Bankrupt".
  14. Galupo, Rey. (August 21, 2020). "Stalls selling 'Manila, province of China' products padlocked".
  15. Mercado, Neil Arwin. (August 20, 2020). "Binondo-based beauty product listed as from 'Manila, Province of China' earns ire of solon".
  16. Heydarian, Richard Javed. (August 21, 2020). "Beauty creams stoke anti-China screams in Philippines". Asia Times.
  17. "Binondo Food Trip: 12 Must-Try Binondo Restaurants & Dish...".
  18. (August 10, 2024). "One Financial Center to rise as Manila Chinatown's first and only grade-a office tower". [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

binondochinese-filipino-culturedistricts-of-manilachinatowns-in-asiacentral-business-districts-in-the-philippines